Perhaps if you have no money to put down, it is better to buy a new car. But I think a large proportion of Americans ought to question why they have no savings to put down on a new car, and where all of their money is going.

Here's the thing, though. This gets into a rolling discussion on poverty and economics and does not have a simple answer. Student loan debt, housing rising at 5x wages, health care costs etc all conspire to squeeze budgets, and if you are under 30 you have an even tougher time making ends meet due to social and economic realignments. These arguments have been worked out a bit elsewhere and only derail this conversation.

Millennials are being squeezed and the smart ones are working to minimize debt. And people in their 20's are making less, comparatively, than their parents did at the same age. When you are making just enough to keep the lights on and food on the table, savings takes a backseat. If these people have less than $1000 in cash on hand, how will they save for a car? They don't, so they finance.

This might reek of privilege, but maybe it's best not to finance used cars? I know that not everyone is capable of saving 10K to buy a new used car, but many people are capable of doing so who do not.

Saving 10K puts you in the top 14% of US savings. Link to data and study 10K is a LOT of money; for most Americans it is six months take home pay after taxes. As much as it would be awesome if we all had that sort of cushion, it it not realistic to expect it. Having that much saved puts you in a very special class of economic advantage. I work with people who had to finance 6500 for a used car, ended up paying close to 13% interest and in general are screwed. Fortunately this loan is helping them get a credit score into the 700's which will make credit cards, insurance etc cheaper.

TL:DR Shit's expensive, yo.